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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25879129">Chased by a raincloud</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vandereer/pseuds/Vandereer'>Vandereer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tiger by the Tail side stories [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>ASL Antics (tm), ASL Brothers, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Pre-Relationship, Underage Smoking, er happy sheep ig, hints of acesan, sanji is not a happy bunny, why there isnt a tag for ASL antics i do not know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:35:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,611</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25879129</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vandereer/pseuds/Vandereer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tropical storm Agua Laguna is about to hit the city, meaning repair bills for Dadan's farm. Ace, Sabo and Luffy need to make money, and fast. A plan to rob the Vinsmoke mansion goes awry, but not for a reason they could have anticipated.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Monkey D. Luffy &amp; Portgas D. Ace &amp; Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy &amp; Vinsmoke Sanji, Portgas D. Ace &amp; Sabo, Portgas D. Ace &amp; Vinsmoke Sanji, Portgas D. Ace/Vinsmoke Sanji, they don't get together for a few years but it's still shippy so yeah</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tiger by the Tail side stories [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1444588</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Chased by a raincloud</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I THINK this story constitutes the earliest in the timeline of the Tiger by the Tail verse, but yeah. This is the story of how Sanji met those rowdy ASL boys. It's not really acesan cause its pre-relationship and like. Teenagers are Dumb 'n don't talk about their feelings. But there might be Hints.<br/>So yeah this is a precursor to Reminder, but I wrote it so long ago that I have forgotten large chunks (what is continuity) so if anything doesn't jam completely, I am apology. I will probably go through that fic and fix it someday, but today is not that day.<br/>Anyway new is better-- enjoy! </p><p>slight tw for parental abuse, cause I feel like I have to put that there for any fic that has the Vinsmokes in any capacity. I'm gonna try to not dwell on it too long.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>"Agua Laguna is comin'." Luffy said. Though with his mouth full, it sounded more like 'Aguaguna escomen!'.</p><p>Ace lifted his head up from the arm of the couch, taking a minute to process what his brother had said. </p><p>"Hey Ace, c'mon! Wake up and pay attention!"  Luffy smacked him on the shoulder, spilling half his bowl of chips across Dadan's couch in the process. </p><p>Ace couldn't remember if he had dozed off or just zoned out due to lack of anything good on the TV. The noonday heat made the air feel stagnant and still, and Dadan's rattling air-conditioning unit was doing little to combat it.</p><p>"...That's right, you've probably been feeling those winds kicking up," the weather channel announcer was saying. "Because this year's Agua Laguna is set to be the biggest we've seen in the past <em> five </em> years! The tropical storm is set to land in a few months, but it might come early, so be sure to get to stacking those sand-bags!" </p><p>"Aw, man." Ace sighed, already thinking about the damages the last one caused Dadan's farm. </p><p>"We need to get to work - anda!" Luffy said, tossing his bowl of chips aside and shaking Ace back and forth. </p><p>"I know, I know…" </p><p>The summer humidity had been making Ace feel sluggish. The weight of the thunderclouds above brought on pressure headaches and made him want to do nothing but sleep. The last thing he felt like doing was pulling off a big thieving job. But, since Dadan hadn't asked to raise three teenage boys, they figured they owed it to her to at least help pay their way. </p><p> </p><p>"I guess we better grab Sabs and see if we can track down somethin' juicy?" Ace said as he dragged himself off the couch. Luffy slammed into him as he took a minute to stretch. He leaned back so Luffy had to shove him in the direction of the front door.</p><p>“Hurry up! Vamos!”</p><p>“Yeah yeah…” Ace said with a yawn. He booted the door open and found their brother sprawled on the porch next to Dadan's white Akita, Pochi. He cut quite the image, wearing shorts and a sweaty tank top, covered in white dog fur. </p><p>"Ugh, what?" Sabo groaned. "This humidity is <em> gross! </em>I don't wanna do anything today." </p><p>Pochi panted at them with his tongue hanging out, shot them a grumpy look, then put his head on his paws. He seemed to enjoy the storm building as much as Sabo did. </p><p>Ace stared out, down the hill they lived on and towards All Blue City. Even though the storm wasn’t supposed to hit for a couple of months, dark clouds were hanging low over it.</p><p>"Well, tough!” Ace said. “We've gotta make some hay while the sun shines!" </p><p>"Speak English." </p><p>"Get off your ass and help find us some place to rob before Agua Laguna hits." </p><p>Ace prodded Sabo with his toe until he got up.</p><p>“Can we use the money to buy an air-conditioning unit that actually works?” Sabo grumbled, picking his shirt away from his back.</p><p>“Would’ve thought you’d be used to it by now!” Luffy said with a cheeky grin. </p><p>“Yeah, right!” Sabo shot back. “Who the hell gets used to sweating this much?”<br/>
“We can always ship you back to England if you want, fancypants.” Ace said. </p><p>“No thanks! I like burgers too much.”</p><p> </p><p>Back in their bedroom, Sabo plopped himself in front of the tower fan, hogging it all to himself. Ace and Luffy huffed at him, but neither of them complained. If it would help Sabo think up a plan, they weren’t allowed to whine at him. They needed his brains.</p><p> </p><p>Luffy kicked his legs against his bed as Sabo pulled out their aging, shared laptop. The thing took forever to boot up and he was already impatient as it was. </p><p>Ace dug under his own bed for an old tourist-trap map of the city. He had marked off all the shops and warehouses they had stolen from so far. A curvy line of black crosses marked the sheet of paper from the Twin Capes at the top of the coast to the abandoned mall at Fishman Quay, and even the fancy malls downtown. </p><p>Ace always felt a little proud at all the successful jobs they had pulled. He had been eyeing the lavish mansions at the top end of the city for some time. He felt confident enough to start pulling bigger jobs; maybe raiding a big mansion like the Newgate estate, for starters. Everyone said it was full of loot. </p><p>Maybe one day. </p><p> </p><p>"Okay, we have some choices here if we're going to pull off something big." Sabo muttered, the laptop finally turning on. "Huh, this looks interesting…" </p><p>Sabo's eyes went wide, a greedy glint in them as he clicked around with the track-pad.</p><p>Ace raised his eyebrows at him as he waited for him to continue, but Sabo trailed off with his expression sinking. He shook his head. "Nevermind, it's barely worth mentioning. It’s <em> way </em> out of our league." </p><p>"What is it?" Luffy asked, hopping off the bed and leaning his chin on the top of Sabo's head. </p><p>"This big estate on the outskirts of town. But it's only accessible via the highway, and probably guarded up to the nines." </p><p>"I can drive us." Ace said. </p><p>"You don't have a licence! What if we get pulled over?" </p><p>"I can drive us <em> carefully." </em> </p><p>Ace smirked, thinking about the red truck Dadan had gifted him. Or rather the one he had begged her to give him after she threatened to throw it onto the scrap heap. </p><p> </p><p>Sabo wasn’t convinced and grumbled as he stared at the screen. Ace leaned back and stretched out next to Sabo to get a look. He was looking at a news article about a snobby party some guy running for mayor was holding at his mansion. </p><p>"He looks mean!" Luffy said, pointing at the laptop screen. </p><p>Ace chuckled. The head of the Vinsmoke household sure was a sight to look at; small, piggy eyes and a stiff black moustache. His kids were all lined up at his feet, all creepy blonde 'children of the corn' types, with one boy standing slightly apart from the others. </p><p>There was definitely something wrong with rich people, Ace thought. All that money and privilege used for self-indulgent garbage. They became so detached from normal people that it wasn't even funny. If Ace had that kind of money, he thought he would at least <em> try </em>to do some good with it. </p><p> </p><p>"What's the problem with it?" Ace said. "Fancy snobs having a big party, big party means lots of people coming in. And that means we can sneak in easier. We rob fancy snobs, sneak out, and they're none the wiser! Easy as pie."</p><p>"Big party also means tighter <em> security." </em> Sabo reminded him. </p><p>"Yeah," Ace said slowly, "but if we got a hold of some penguin suits, we could just mingle with the waitin’ staff." </p><p>"I get the feeling we'll get more than a gentle warning if we get caught. These guys would really throw the book at us, and then the whole library, brick-by-brick." </p><p> </p><p>“There’ll be great food, right?!” Luffy said with sparkling eyes.</p><p>Ace groused a bit at his one-track mind, but his own stomach growled at the thought of getting some decent grub. Hunting in the forests nearby had only yielded enough for a meagre potful of rabbit stew at best. He wanted a deer, dammit. The encroaching storms meant that anything with half a brain was laying low and seeking shelter.  </p><p> </p><p>Ace coughed to cover up the sound his stomach was making and sat up straight. “We don’t got a lot of choices here, Sab.” Ace said firmly. “Everyone’s gonna be closing up for the storm. This is the best chance we’ve got.”</p><p>“You’re right.” Sabo said, though still with a reluctant sigh. “But I feel like this is too big a job for us to just wing it.”<br/>
“There’s no time to plan!  Luffy said, hopping up and down. “We gotta go, go, go!”</p><p><br/>
“Right, so it’s settled!” Ace said, ignoring Sabo’s glare. He hopped to his feet and stretched his arms over the top of his head. “Try to grab anything you can, but keep it light. We don’t want to be too weighed down, and we might have to make a quick escape.”</p><p>Luffy smacked his fist into his hand and nodded. “Tudo bem!”</p><p>“That also means don’t fill your pockets with nothing but pigs in blankets this time, Loof!”</p><p>Luffy’s grin fell away. “Aw.”</p><p>“Let’s go secure some penguin suits.”</p><p> </p><p>They walked out later that evening, all wearing suits and bowties. Ace was already feeling uncomfortable at how restricted his movements were. He waved at Dadan as they headed for his truck. </p><p>She gave them one look before going back to her Sudoku puzzle, shaking her head. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Ace parked the truck on a quiet dirt track next to the mansion. It was a muddy swamp of pine needles and muck. The puddles were so deep that they had to wrap plastic bags around their feet. Ace cursed since they already had flecks of mud on the legs of their suit pants by the time they approached the fence.</p><p> </p><p>The Vinsmoke mansion was big, even for richfuck standards. The building looked like the architects had smashed together three buildings at once; like some bastard child combination of a castle, a mansion, and the base of a supervillain. Lines of glittery, expensive cars queued up on the wide driveway and glittery, expensive people walked in, chattering loudly.</p><p>
  <em> They better have some good loot on them.  </em>
</p><p>Ace was already worrying about the possibility of walking away empty handed, something he had to steel himself for on every job they pulled.</p><p> </p><p>Ace helped shove Sabo up the tall iron bars, then hauled himself up after him. Once they were both over, they put an arm down each to help Luffy scramble up.</p><p> </p><p>“Wasn’t expecting our suits to be so messed up already.” Sabo said.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I can guaran-fucking-tee you guys that they’ll barely look at us.” Ace said, as they walked towards the mansion. </p><p>Finding the back entrance that led to the kitchen wasn’t too hard.</p><p> </p><p>Inside, Ace smiled at how well they blended with the busy food staff - just as planned.  </p><p>Luffy eyed a plate of glistening melon wrapped in translucent strips of salty ham and started drooling. </p><p>Ace was quick to give him a light clap over the back of the head. “Loot first, food second.” he reminded him. </p><p> </p><p>Luffy somehow managed to snatch a few off the platter anyway, with speedy movements too quick for the eye to follow. </p><p>They moved towards the door to get further into the mansion, dodging the whirling masses of busy staff, and more food kept disappearing off platters left and right. </p><p>Luffy overreached for a plate of sliced Italian sausage too quickly for Ace to grab him and pull him away, bumping straight into someone who looked a little too fancy to be part of the serving staff. Ace held his breath as Luffy paused, his face frozen like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. </p><p> </p><p>A kid about their age was hovering near an unattended pot of food, adding some spices to it when Luffy smacked into him. He turned quickly, the sapphire-blue earring in his earlobe swinging as he regarded them with an eye the same colour. Half his face was covered with a silky curtain of blonde hair.</p><p>A connection fired in Ace’s brain - the photo on Sabo's laptop. In the family photo, the boy had been the one standing apart from the rest of his family. Something in the kid’s haughty posture made Ace think ‘spoiled prince’.</p><p> </p><p><em> Typical </em> that Luffy would run right into a member of the family they were trying to rob blind.</p><p> </p><p>The boy blinked. "Are you part of the serving staff? I don't remember seeing you on the list." </p><p>"Ah, yeah! " Sabo said, dragging Luffy away from the food. “They brought us in at the last minute! Thought we could do with some extra help!"</p><p>Ace waited for the prince to say something, but he merely twitched a curly eyebrow. "Well, whatever. Just don't get in the way. And don’t take any more food! Not until the party’s over, anyway." The kid looked them up and down with a haughty air of disapproval. “You might want to clean up a little. Father won’t like it if you track mud through the house.”</p><p> </p><p>The prince turned away to go and inspect more of the food the staff were making. </p><p>Once he was out of earshot, Sabo turned to Ace, letting go of Luffy’s collar. “What was that you said? ‘Ah can guarun-tee y’all they’ll barely look at us’?” Sabo said, doing a terrible impression of Ace’s accent.</p><p>“Fuck you.” Ace said, like he always did when Sabo left him devoid of a comeback.</p><p> </p><p>A loud voice and thudding footsteps approached the kitchen as soon as they left, making the three brothers duck their heads and dart away towards the grand staircase. The head of the family stomped past, with three blonde boys and a girl trailing after him. </p><p>"The photographer will be here soon! Where the hell is Sanji?!" </p><p>"I saw him screwing around in the kitchen." One of the blonde boys answered, smugly.</p><p>"That little-" </p><p>The voice retreated into the kitchen, and the bustle of the party drowned out the rest. Ace shook his head as they slipped into the main room, grabbing a tray of nibbles to look more authentic. </p><p>
  <em> Damn rich people. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sabo snatched a few wallets on their way to the main party hall, a cavernous room the length of half a football field. It was full of the type of people who thought they were too good to breathe the same air as people like Ace and his brothers. </p><p>"I told you Sabs, easy as pie!" Ace said, carelessly snatching up a clutch purse that a lady had left unattended. </p><p>"Oh shut your stupid cowboy mouth, you!" Sabo muttered back. "Say that when we're back at home counting the loot!"</p><p> </p><p>Luffy eyed a waiter carrying a tray of prosciutto ham and shot after him into the crowd. </p><p>"Luffy!" Sabo hissed as he ran after him. "Come back!" </p><p> </p><p>Ace chuckled, offering food to the guests with one hand and lifting wallets with the other, shoving them into a bag he had hidden under his coat tails. </p><p> </p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the spoiled prince storm along the fringes of the crowd, disappearing through the door that led outside. </p><p> </p><p>Ace felt the tugging urge to follow him, which possibly had something to do with him catching the glint of a gold chain that was hanging out of his back pocket. There were probably easier marks hanging around the mansion, but Ace relished a challenge. </p><p> </p><p>He weaved his way through the throng of people and slipped through the door. It led to a wooden veranda that overlooked the mansion grounds.</p><p> </p><p>The boy stood at the far end, furiously lighting a cigarette. He sighed in relief at the first inhale. </p><p>The watch chain glinted temptingly in the low light. This would be easy. </p><p> </p><p>"Uh, howdy there!" Ace said, wondering if that was a good idea when the boy whirled to glare at him. "May I interest you in some of, uh-" Ace waved at the tray of nibbles as he walked up beside the blonde. He frowned when he realised he had no idea what the little piles of food were. "-These things?" </p><p> </p><p>"No, thank you." the boy said tightly. Putting his back to him, he took another drag of his cigarette. </p><p>Ace frowned at the desperation behind it, and the way he scowled deeply out at nothing in particular. He held the cigarette like he would a lifeline, like he'd been doing it for some time already. </p><p>"Aren't you a little young to be smoking?" Ace said. The boy looked even younger than he was, peach fuzz on his cheeks and chin. </p><p>The boy looked at him with another icy glare. "Why, you going to rat me out to my father?" </p><p>"Wasn't planning on it. Just curious s'all." </p><p>Ace put the tray down on a nearby table, then joined the boy in leaning over the wooden rail. </p><p> </p><p>Ace wondered if this was something he was allowed to be doing; if the spoiled prince was going to tell him to get back to work. But he didn't. He stared off at where the last guests were trickling through the main doors, then sighed. </p><p> </p><p>"You ever look out at someone and - you don't know anything about them, but you just want to switch places with them? You want fucking <em> anyone's </em>life instead of yours?" </p><p>Ace spoke hesitantly. He never expected to hear a rich kid say anything like that. </p><p>"Yeah, I mean, I guess. It's somethin' I used to want more than I do now." Ace said. </p><p>The boy nodded like he wasn't very satisfied with Ace's answer, then took another drag on his cigarette. It was a gross habit, but the grace in every movement as he put the filter to his lips made Ace stop and stare. </p><p>"What changed?" the boy asked, or more like demanded. </p><p>Ace shrugged and stuck out his lip. "I have people I care about now, and sometimes I even believe they care about me back." He thought about Luffy's dumb, carefree grin and smiled. "I can't go off livin' someone else's life and abandoning my own. It's hard, but it's<em> mine </em>, you know? Gotta just make the best off a less than stellar situation."</p><p>That clearly wasn't the answer the boy wanted at all. He flicked his cigarette into the garden and lit another one straight on its tail. </p><p>"You know, I uh-" Ace started, fumbling for something else to say when the blonde cut him off. </p><p>"Do you have anything to say that wasn't written on the inside of a fortune cookie?" </p><p>He turned to Ace and breathed smoke all over the front of his suit. "Sometimes you can't 'make the best' of things! It grinds you down until there's nothing <em> left </em>of you!" He met Ace’s stunned expression with a withering look as he turned away, pausing to carelessly flick ash and embers all over his shoe. "Forget it. Why am I even talking to you?" </p><p>"Because I'm listenin'?" </p><p><em> God knows </em> why <em> I am though... </em></p><p>As the prince turned away again, Ace grabbed the end of the watch chain and started to slowly pull it out. </p><p>Then several things happened at once. </p><p>The door banged open, the prince turned around so quickly that he ungracefully yanked the watch out, and Ace nearly fumbled the damn thing before shoving it into his pocket. </p><p>He didn't know how the Prince didn't spot him, but his eye was fixed on the man standing in the doorway. </p><p>“<em>SANJI!" </em> he yelled, striding towards the boy, who looked petrified now. "What have I told you about smoking?” The man wrenched the packet and lighter out of his hands. “We’re at a <em> party! </em> What would our guests say if they saw my <em> son </em> smoking <em> King Grounds </em> of all things?!”</p><p>“I’m sorry father.” Sanji said with lowered eyes.</p><p>“Look at me when I’m speaking to you!”<br/>
The boy looked up, and the man savagely slapped him across the face.</p><p>“Go and wash that horrible smell off, and get back in there before people start asking questions.” </p><p>“Yes, father.”</p><p> </p><p>The man turned on his heels and headed back inside, while Sanji wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. As he knelt down to pick his scattered cigarettes, tears were welling in his eyes. Ace knew the kind. The kind of angry, ashamed tears that were somehow more embarrassing than tears of sadness.</p><p>Ace silently knelt down to help him, but got a furious look in return. </p><p>"Get the <em> fuck </em> out of here!" he whispered savagely. </p><p> </p><p>The pocket watch was burning a hole in Ace's pocket as he walked back into the main room.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Ace slunk off to find his brothers, suddenly not wanting to hang around this place any longer. </p><p>Sabo had found Luffy and was now laughing at his attempts to stuff multiple dinner rolls into his mouth. They were both oblivious to Ace's dark expression. </p><p>“I think we should go.” Ace muttered.</p><p>“Why? What’s wrong?” Sabo said. </p><p>“I just don’t want to be here anymore guys,<em> please </em>…”</p><p>"Ah, well. I think we've gotten a decent haul. And Luffy ate like sixty chicken wings." </p><p>"Sixty-three." Luffy corrected, with a belch. "You want to grab some food before we go, Ace?" </p><p>He grimaced. He had no appetite anymore, the sound of that backhand was stuck playing in his mind on a loop. </p><p>"No, come on." he said shortly, leading the way back to the kitchen. </p><p> </p><p>They had almost made it too, when Ace noticed Sanji catching up to him, a red mark over one side of his face.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Ace felt a slight shiver as an icy blue eye locked with his, then Sanji started barging through the kitchen to get to them. </p><p>“Uh, guys? I think we should run."</p><p>"Aw, why?" Luffy said. "I just ate <em> so </em>much!" </p><p>"Ace, what did you <em> do?" </em>Sabo cried, as he grabbed Luffy by the hand to tug him out the door. </p><p>"What we came here to do! Now go!" </p><p> </p><p>The three of them were good runners; they had to be for how much shit they stole. Even weighed down with loot, they were halfway across the grounds in moments. </p><p>So for Sanji to catch up with them meant he had to be even <em> faster. </em> </p><p>He locked eyes with Ace, his blonde hair streaming out behind him as he ran. He hooked one hand into the neck of Ace's jacket and forced him to skid to a halt. </p><p>Ace was thrown into a moral dilemma; was he really going to hit some poor abused kid, just to get away? Then felt like an idiot as Sanji drove the sharp toe of his shoe right into the back of Ace's knee and caused him to stumble with a yell.</p><p>
  <em> Fuck, that hurt!  </em>
</p><p>“I knew you weren’t <em> kitchen staff, </em>you sack of shit!” Sanji spat. </p><p>Ace lunged to his feet with a grin. “If you knew, why didn’t you kick us out earlier?”</p><p>Ace jumped backwards to avoid another kick, but caught a glancing blow to the side that could've broken his ribs if it had landed squarely. </p><p>“Ace!” Luffy cried from where he paused on the fence with one leg swung over.</p><p>“Get outta here Loof, I’ll catch up!”</p><p>Luffy nodded with a worried little frown, then vaulted off the fence.</p><p> </p><p>“Give it back!” Sanji demanded, lunging forward to knee Ace in the stomach. </p><p>All the air left Ace in one huge gasp and he had to fight back the urge to vomit. </p><p>The kid screamed like an enraged cat as Ace grabbed a handful of his hair and twisted in retaliation. Because hey, if he was going to fight dirty, why shouldn't Ace?</p><p>“I dunno what you’re talkin’ about, Blondie.” Ace shot back. </p><p>The glare Sanji gave him could cut through steel. "The watch you stole out of my pocket! You <em> stupid, thieving HICK!" </em> </p><p>Sanji's leg swung up to hit him several times in quick succession, forcing Ace to let go of his hair. Those kicks <em> hurt </em>. </p><p>Ace lunged to grab his leg as he swung it out again, causing him great amusement as the other boy had to hop on one leg. </p><p>"If I <em> had </em> stolen anything, which I didn't-!" Ace said, as Sanji snarled and struggled in his grip. "Surely y'all have enough money to buy a new one?" </p><p>“It’s not about the money!”</p><p>Sanji twisted out of his grip, then reeled back and kicked him in the face. </p><p><em> Huh. He's flexible. </em> Ace thought, as he waited for the stars exploding across his vision to clear. </p><p> </p><p>Ace still had the advantage of more weight and muscle on his side. He took another sharp kick to the hip, then lunged forward. </p><p>Ace grabbed Sanji by the lapels of his shirt and threw him to the ground, mostly just to show that he could. Then he kept him firmly pinned to the ground with his knees. He slipped the watch out of his pocket, and just to rub it in, started spinning it on one finger.</p><p>“This what you want? What’s so special about one bit of gold, hm?”<br/>
“Look inside!”</p><p>Ace snatched the watch back up. He hadn’t even bothered to look inside yet. He clicked it open and the top snapped up to reveal a photo in the frame above the watch face. </p><p>It was a picture of a smiling blonde woman, with blue eyes very similar to the angry one staring up at him.</p><p> </p><p>Just then, Ace realised how much he had fucked up.</p><p> </p><p>“You can keep the rest! I don’t give a shit.” Sanji said. “Just - give me the picture back!”</p><p>Ace stood up, glancing over his shoulder at the noise coming from the mansion. More people were coming out, which meant he had to make a decision. The watch was solid gold, maybe worth a few hundred bucks, but the other loot in his pack was worth far more. He could stand to lose a few hundred, just this once.</p><p>He tossed the watch haphazardly onto Sanji's chest.</p><p>“You lucked out. I’m feelin’ generous tonight.” Ace said as he clambered up the fence. “See you around, Blondie! It’s been fun.”</p><p>“Go fuck yourself!”</p><p>Ace saluted and winked, then hopped down the other side. He cast one last grin back through the bars of the fence before running after his brothers and escaping into the night.</p><p> </p><p>The joy at spreading out their haul and counting it back at home felt dampened by the whole encounter. Ace was annoyed to learn he felt bad, even though he had given back the watch. </p><p>He stared at his brothers with his head resting on his arms, wondering what life was like for that kid. </p><p>
  <em> Guess even poor little rich boys have their problems? No wonder he was actin' so uptight.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>That night, while Sabo and Luffy slept soundly in their beds either side of Ace's, he lay awake. His body ached from the fight. The adrenaline had long worn off and he felt the throbs of every kick. </p><p>
  <em> Was it right to just run away? Should I have done something?  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He rolled over in bed. It wasn't his place; wasn't even any of his fucking business. What good would it have done to call protective services or the cops or anything like that? Probably would've only gotten the kid into heaps more trouble. </p><p> </p><p>Ace felt a familiar thump on his mattress and bony elbows banging into him.  Luffy usually woke up in the middle of the night, having bad dreams about what happened to Shanks (or occasionally their gramps, when it got around time for one of his visits). </p><p>Arms looped around Ace's middle as Luffy snuggled his face into his back. </p><p>"Hey, Loof?" </p><p>He got a sleepy "Mgrh?" in response. </p><p>"That kid we saw tonight, I think he was pretty unhappy. You think we should have done something?" </p><p>Groggy, Luffy mumbled, "Did he ask you for help?" </p><p> </p><p>Ace remembered his tear-stained, humiliated expression and the savage <em> “Get the fuck out of here!”   </em></p><p>"No." Ace muttered slowly. "But it seemed like he needed it." </p><p>Sabo stirred and rolled over to look at Ace, his pale brows crinkling in the dark. “I wondered what that guy’s deal was. Why he was so mad at you."</p><p>"I stole his watch. It was real fancy too. But I gave it back." </p><p>More alert, Sabo’s eyes widened. "You… <em> You </em>gave back something you stole?" </p><p>"I know!" Ace cried. "It was weird I - I felt bad for him!" </p><p>"So what, you wanna go back there?" Sabo said. "We're thieves, not walk-in family counsellors." </p><p>"Of course I don't." </p><p> </p><p>Luffy started fiddling with Ace's beads, </p><p>"Ace… You wanna help people, cause you're nice, but they gotta want help first. Nao se preoccupe, okay?"</p><p> </p><p>Ace rolled onto his back and Luffy adjusted to cling onto him. He ruffled Luffy's hair with a sigh. "You're prob'ly right." </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Agua Laguna hit right on schedule, a couple of months later. </p><p> </p><p>Sabo had dragged them to a ramen place, since he wanted a bowl before the place shut for the season. They had stuffed their guts and right as they left the awning of the noodle place, the rain started to come down in sheets. </p><p> </p><p>"Looks like the storms startin' for real?" Ace said, pulling his orange hat onto his head. "Let's get home." </p><p> </p><p>The rain was coming down so hard that the darkening streets quickly started to resemble a river. The three of them darted from bus stops to shop awnings to keep the worst of it off their heads, but they were soon soaked. </p><p> </p><p>They were about to forget shelter and bolt, when Ace noticed another person. It was odd to see someone who wasn't also running for shelter. </p><p> </p><p>Then Ace did a double take, his eyes widening in recognition. No way was it the same guy! </p><p> </p><p>He nudged Sabo in the ribs and pointed. Sabo raised his eyebrows in response. </p><p> </p><p>The pampered prince from the Vinsmoke mansion was hunkered in an alleyway, sitting under a corrugated awning to keep the torrents of rain off. When Sanji raised his head to look around, Ace could see the blue earring in his ear glinting. Someone about the conjunction of his fine clothes, frilly shirt and expensive coat, and the image of him sat in a filthy, wet alleyway tugged at Ace’s heartstrings.</p><p>
  <em> Talk about being knocked down a peg.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Ace shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to look casual as he approached, like he would any scared wild animal.</p><p>“Howdy, stranger!” Ace called out.</p><p> </p><p>The pallor of his skin shifted from pale to ghost-white when he realised who was striding towards him. When he got to his feet, Ace could see how his baggy clothes hung off him. His belt had a couple of new holes gouged in it to keep his jeans up.</p><p>“What, you want to fight again?” the boy growled, putting a brave step forward, but Ace could see his legs shaking. </p><p>"Hey, relax, we don't wanna hurt ya.” </p><p>“No, you just want to <em> laugh </em>at me, right?” </p><p>Ace could see a hell of a black eye underneath his bangs and Ace’s attempt at a relaxed smile turned into a frown. His worries about not doing something to help resurfaced.</p><p>“That's the guy who kicked you in the face, right Ace?” Luffy said with a giggle.</p><p>"Hey, I was totally in control of that fight! I knew what I was doin'!" </p><p> </p><p>Sanji backed down the alleyway until he smacked into a dead end, the garage door behind him ringing with a hollow boom. “If you’re here to rob me, I don’t have anything left. Some kid already took all my money.”</p><p>“Nah, not interested." Ace said. "Just find it a little ironic, y'know?" </p><p>"Yes, I'm sure this is <em> hilarious </em>to you." </p><p>"Uh, yeah it is a little!" Sabo added, and Ace was quick to smack him on the arm. </p><p> </p><p>Sanji slumped against the door and slid down until he was just sitting on the wet ground. “Just leave me alone, please."</p><p>Ace considered turning around and doing just that, since they had clearly antagonised him enough, but Luffy walked forward with his sandals slapping.</p><p> </p><p>He crouched down in front of Sanji and rocked back and forth on his heels. “Ei, you look hungry! Come back with us! Dadan has lots of good things to eat!"</p><p>"No, thank you." Sanji said tightly. </p><p>“You know Agua Laguna’s comin’, right?" Ace said. "You don’t wanna be caught outside when it hits.”</p><p>“Come <em> on, </em> man!” Luffy insisted. “We’re not making fun of you! There’s gonna be thunder and lightning and stuff, and shit flying everywhere! All the streets are gonna get flooded!”</p><p>“I know.” Sanji said. “I mean, I don’t really care about that.”</p><p>Something about the way he said that set off a warning light in Ace’s head. He wasn’t just being obstinate; he had <em> given up </em>.</p><p>“We’re not trying to trick you.” Sabo said gently. “We know how tough it can be - not having anywhere to sleep. I mean, the three of us were all lost and abandoned at some point. How about we get you out of the rain, yeah?”</p><p>“That’s kind of you.” Sanji said stiffly, as he got to his feet again. “But I don’t need your pity. I’m fine.”</p><p>Sabo and Luffy shot each other a concerned look as Sanji walked past them, into the driving rain. </p><p> </p><p>Ace gave them an 'I'll deal with it' look as he jogged to catch up. </p><p> </p><p>"Look, we were tryin' to be gentle, but I heard this storm's gonna be one of the biggest ever. You could get killed!"</p><p> </p><p>"Piss off! I don't need anyone!" </p><p> </p><p>Sanji's statement was counteracted by his foot slipping out from underneath him seconds later, and falling face down in a dirty puddle. </p><p> </p><p>His soaked jacket hood fell over his face. Ace crouched down next to him, trying not to give him an 'I told you so' look as he lifted it up. </p><p><br/>
"Did you say… You have somewhere to stay?" </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>“No. Absolutely <em> not! </em> We don’t have room for a fourth! <em> ” </em></p><p>Was the first thing Dadan said when they brought Sanji to her door. The rain fell around their shoulders like bullets, but Ace was barely feeling it anymore after the long walk from the city back home.</p><p>“It’ll just be for a night or two, please?” Ace said. </p><p>“Let us in Dadan! We’re cold!” Luffy whined. </p><p> </p><p>Sanji had his arms hugged around himself tightly. He was shivering, for all the good it did his skinny frame.</p><p>Dadan eventually put the heel of her hand to her forehead like a headache was starting to pinch. “I wish I didn’t have a heart.” she muttered. “Just come in, god damn you!”</p><p>The four of them rushed inside, sighing with relief as the warm air from the hearth slapped them all at once.</p><p>“All of you - bath, now! You’re getting my floor all wet!”</p><p> </p><p>Dadan marched them all towards the bathroom, then stormed off to look for a mop. </p><p>“Ya comin’?” Ace said, Luffy and Sabo already hollering and whipping their wet shirts off as they ran into the bathroom. </p><p>Sanji held back, hunching up his shoulders. “I’ll wait.”</p><p>“Suit yourself. There might not be any hot water left though.”</p><p> </p><p>Sanji only slunk into the bathroom when the three of them came back out, towelling off and hunting down some dry clothes. If the water was cold, he didn't complain. </p><p> </p><p>Once they were all dry and clothed again, they stood before Dadan as she sat on the couch, lighting up a smoke. </p><p>“So, what’s this one’s name?”</p><p>Sanji stepped forward and cleared his throat, presenting himself like a socialite even though he was wearing Sabo's old clothes that were horrendously baggy on him. </p><p>"My name is Sanji Vinsmoke, ma’am. I would be in your debt if you could let me stay a while. I don’t have much to offer, but I could lend a hand with the cooking and cleaning, if you need me to.”</p><p>Ace’s brows shot up at the politeness of his tone, and Dadan seemed taken aback, too. </p><p>“Well, aren’t you polite? You can have all the cooking work if ya want, you’re fuckin’ welcome to it.”</p><p>Luffy scuttled over to Sanji with glittering eyes. “You’re a cook, Sanji?!”</p><p>“Yeah, I mean. I guess? I never really got to practice much back at home.”</p><p>“That’s <em> awesome! </em>” Sanji’s pale cheeks caught a fair bit of pink as Luffy pounced on him. “Can you show us?! Can you cook lots of meat?!”</p><p>“Hey, give the kid a break, you little gremlin!” Dadan snapped. “All of you should get to bed. And we’ve got no spares, so Sanji - you’ll have to share with one of those clowns.”</p><p> </p><p>Sanji followed them into the bedroom they shared. </p><p> </p><p>With a slightly curled lip, he stared at the shabby peeling wallpaper and Luffy's collection of cicada shells and various pinned beetles. </p><p> </p><p>Sabo’s area was neater; stocked with his book collection and surrounded by cork boards, all pinned with scribbles of smart shit Ace didn’t really understand. But Sabo wasn't exactly open to anyone intruding on his space. Something or other about potentially messing up his notes. </p><p> </p><p>Ace had only a few small pieces of electronics that he had pulled apart to see how well he could put them back together. They were in various states of disrepair, though his shelf was so heavy it was probably going to collapse on him in his sleep one day. </p><p> </p><p>Sanji hesitated still. </p><p> </p><p>"You wanna pick who you're gonna share with?" Ace said. “If ya need help deciding, Sabo talks about quadratic equations in his sleep, Luffy will beat you up if you don’t cuddle him all night and me? Well, I might fart on you but other than that…”</p><p> </p><p>Sanji clenched his jaw shut. </p><p> </p><p>“You better pick one of us, unless you wanna go sleep in Pochi’s bed.” Luffy added, helpfully.</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever.” Sanji picked Ace’s bed and stiffly sat down while Sabo turned on his lamp to read. </p><p> </p><p>“Seems like it’s a good thing we found you when we did.” Sabo mused as he looked out the window next to his bed. A loud thunderstorm had rolled in on their tails, where it now banged and crashed across the hills. The trees surrounding them blew from side to side wildly and looked likely to fall down. A bolt of lightning cracked with a sound like an enormous gunshot not far away, and Sabo flinched away from the window.</p><p> </p><p>“Ace, can you tuck me in?” Luffy chirped.</p><p><br/>
“How old are you again?” Ace sighed as he perched on Luffy’s bed. </p><p> </p><p>He knew he would never rest unless he at least gave him a hug first. He wrapped his arms around Luffy’s shoulders and hugged him as hard as he could for a few minutes. Most people would hate being locked in a painfully tight embrace, but if Luffy enjoyed it, Ace wasn’t about to question it. </p><p>As he sat there with his chin resting on top of Luffy’s head, he caught Sanji shooting him a strange look. His glare was so fierce, almost like the mere act of hugging his brother had offended him in some way.</p><p>“Storm’s kinda loud, huh?” Luffy muttered, already getting sleepy.</p><p>“Yeah, just wake me up if you get scared, okay?”</p><p>“I ain’t scared.”</p><p>“If you say so champ.” Ace kissed the top of his head and pulled the blankets over him. </p><p>Sanji slumped down on his side, facing away from Ace and about as far away from him on the narrow bed as he could go without falling off. </p><p>“Goodnight Ace, goodnight Sabo!” Luffy said.</p><p>“G’night Loof.” they both replied.</p><p>Ace could feel the tension, even though he wasn’t touching Sanji at all. It was like he was trying not to move; not make Ace aware of his presence in any way. The stillness bothered Ace more than if Sanji were thrashing around wildly. It was only until the other boy heaved out a sigh and shuffled a little closer that Ace could close his eyes and get to sleep.</p><p><br/>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to eclecticismymiddlename and nervous_screaming for beta reading, and for obliterating every use of the word "just". Because it's my favourite filler word right now and needs to dIE</p></blockquote></div></div>
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